[Reprinted  from  A.  L.  A.  Bulletin,  Conference  Number,  1912 ] 


CATALOGING  IN  LEGISLATIVE  REFERENCE  WORK 

By  ONO  MARY  IMHOFF,  Wisconsin  Legislative  Reference  Library 


The  state  which  studies  the  laws  and 
experience  of  other  states  and  countries 
in  order  to  bring  to  its  own  statute  books 
the  best  features  of  each,  combined  with 
the  results  of  original  work,  confronts  a 
problem  of  no  small  dimensions.  The 
mass  of  laws  put  forth  by  the  forty-eight 
states  of  this  country  is  so  overwhelming 
that  it  is  practically  impossible  for  one 
man  thoroughly  to  comprehend  their  mer¬ 
its  and  disadvantages.  The  legislative 
reference  library,  therefore,  must  be  of 
service  in  helping  to  select  that  which  is 
worthy  of  imitation,  at  the  same  time  dis¬ 
carding  the  impractical  features. 

The  reasons  for  the  success  or  failure 
of  such  laws,  and  the  differences  in 
economic  or  local  conditions  in  two  com¬ 
munities  must  always  receive  serious  con¬ 
sideration  by  those  who  are  endeavoring 
to  meet  the  advancing  economic  demands 
for  properly  constructed  and  better  laws. 
The  comparative  element  of  this  vast  ac¬ 
cumulation  of  material  must  always  be 
remembered,  not  only  in  the  care,  but  also 
in  the  gathering  of  material,  if  the  library 
is  to  serve  its  highest  purpose. 

Because  of  this  and  other  well  known 
characteristics  of  a  library  of  this  type, 
the  demands  are  of  a  peculiar  nature  and 
cannot  be  met  by  the  ordinary  library 
material  treated  in  the  usual  library 
method.  It  is  more  or  less  of  a  quasi- 
library,  requiring  an  adaptation  of  library 
processes  to  a  combination  of  office  and 
library  work.  As  a  result  of  this  differ¬ 
ence,  the  general  library  rules  for  catalog¬ 
ing  must  be  decidedly  modified.  One  is 
justified  in  making  the  catalog  of  such 
a  library  a  law  unto  itself,  for  each  and 
every  one  of  its  class  has  its  own  partic¬ 
ular  problems,  environment  and  limita¬ 
tions,  which  will  probably  be  met  in  its 
own  particular  way. 


Since  the  problem  becomes  so  largely 
one  of  individuality  and  circumstances,  it 
might  be  well  to  consider  for  a  moment 
some  of  the  essential  differences  in  pur¬ 
pose  and  treatment  of  material,  and  to 
realize  the  desirable  points  to  be  attained 
as  well  as  the  non-essentials,  or  things 
actually  to  be  avoided. 

The  processes  and  methods  of  this  kind 
of  a  library  must  in  their  nature  be  con¬ 
ducive  to  rapidity  and  conciseness  of  serv¬ 
ice.  Time  saving  devices  are  unusually 
important,  not  only  in  the  acquisition  of 
material  and  the  actual  technical  work, 
but  in  the  delivery  of  material.  The 
speedy  availability  of  the  most  serious 
treatises  on  the  most  profound  subjects 
is  absolutely  necessary.  Between  ses¬ 
sions  many,  many  hours  of  the  most  ear¬ 
nest  and  serious  efforts  must  be  spent  in 
investigation,  study  and  research  in 
order  to  relieve  the  pressure  of  heavy  re¬ 
search  work  as  much  as  possible  during 
the  session. 

The  library  deals  with  business  men 
who  are  seeking  an  answer  to  some  spe¬ 
cial  need.  They  have  a  definite  reason 
for  seeking  the  information  and  a  definite 
point  of  view  and  they  expect  the  library 
to  answer  their  questions  in  a  business¬ 
like  manner.  Too  much  emphasis  cannot 
be  placed  upon  efficiency  of  service  as 
shown  through  rapidity  of  service.  The 
legislator  is  a  busy  man  and  any  time 
saved  through  devices  which  quicken  de¬ 
livery  of  material,  or  shorten  the  time 
devoted  by  the  patron  himself,  is  well 
worth  while.  If  two  hours  is  necessary 
on  the  part  of  the  library  worker  between 
sessions  to  put  material  into  such  shape 
that  it  may  be  delivered  ten  minutes 
sooner  during  the  legislative  session,  it 
should  be  given  cheerfully. 

Condensations,  digests,  and  briefs  may 


be  prepared  during  the  interval  between 
sessions  which  will  save  hours  of  time 
during  the  actual  high  pressure  season 
of  the  session  itself.  Any  sort  of  short¬ 
cut  brought  about  by  analyticals,  or  any 
other  devices  known  to  the  cataloger, 
should  be  used.  Shrewdness  of  judgment 
and  a  general  discrimination  as  to  what 
is  really  valuable  is  not  only  highly  de¬ 
sirable  but  absolutely  essential. 

Since  time  is  such  an  important  ele¬ 
ment,  it  might  be  well  to  call  attention  to 
the  fact,  that  the  legislative  reference 
library  may  be  adequately  maintained 
without  many  of  the  records  which  are 
favored  in  libraries  in  general.  Do  away 
with  as  much  “red  tape”  as  possible. 
Simplicity  of  material,  simplicity  in  serv¬ 
ice,  simplicity  in  the  whole  department 
is  to  be  commended  above  almost  any 
other  one  characteristic.  Among  those 
records  which  can  be  abandoned  with 
perfect  propriety  in  such  a  department, 
are  the  accession  book,  gift  book  and 
withdrawal  book.  So  much  of  the  mate¬ 
rial  is  ephemeral  in  its  value  that  the  cost 
of  maintenance  outweighs  the  value  re¬ 
ceived  in  actual  results.  The  serial  list 
may  be  exceedingly  simple.  Records  of 
the  number  of  books  cataloged,  or  circu¬ 
lation  statistics  are  of  very  doubtful  value 
in  this  work. 

Since  the  loss  of  material  is  inevitably 
rather  large,  an  inventory  is  almost  essen¬ 
tial.  However,  material  is  easily  re¬ 
placed,  much  of  it  is  free  and  because  of 
this  fact,  a  biennial  inventory  will  prove 
satisfactory  in  most  cases.  There  is  no 
need  of  a  complicated  charging  system. 
In  truth,  establish  no  records  of  any  kind 
within  the  library  until  convinced  that 
its  efficiency  will  be  hampered  without 
them.  Emphasis  is  put  upon  this  point, 
because  of  the  fact  that  all  legislative 
reference  departments  have  small  appro¬ 
priations  in  the  beginning,  and  it  is  dur¬ 
ing  this  early  period  that  the  library  must 
justify  its  existence  by  showing  results 
in  active  service  rather  than  in  catalogs 
and  records.  At  first  there  are  never 
enough  assistants  to  do  both  efficiently. 
Therefore,  let  the  tendencies  be  toward 
those  things  which  will  bring  into  evi¬ 


dence  vital  things  rather  than  mere  good 
housekeeping. 

It  might  be  well  to  state  that  the  term 
“catalog”  will  be  used  in  the  broadest 
possible  sense.  The  definition  of  the  term 
as  it  will  be.  used  in  this  paper,  might  be 
given  as  “a  record  of  sources  and  of  ma¬ 
terial,”  and  not  merely  a  record  of  mate¬ 
rial  to  be  found  upon  the  shelves  of  any 
one  library  or  institution. 

The  catalog  should  be  kept  as  simple 
as  possible  in  its  essentials.  Conciseness 
of  title,  brevity  of  treatment,  and  above 
all  clearness,  must  always  be  borne  in 
mind.  Sacrifice  library  school  rules  if 
necessary.  Let  there  be  no  hesitation  in 
enlarging  or  changing  the  title  if  by  so 
doing  greater  clearness  is  gained.  It 
must  be  remembered  always  that  the 
catalog  is  made  not  for  librarians  with 
technical  knowledge,  but  for  men  whose 
use  of  it  will  be  that  of  an  untrained  stu¬ 
dent.  Let  it  be  such  that  your  constitu¬ 
ency  may  use  it  without  help.  Be  exceed¬ 
ingly  generous  with  notes,  never  failing 
in  the  case  of  bills  to  show  whether  such 
bills  became  laws  or  failed  in  passage.  If 
a  bill  became  a  law,  give  the  citation.  If 
reports  or  cases  are  known  by  special 
names,  be  sure  to  note  that  fact.  Let 
there  be  no  ambiguity  either  in  title,  sub¬ 
ject  or  note.  Annotations  as  to  the  sub¬ 
stance  of  material  are  also  highly  desir¬ 
able,  particularly  when  they  show  whether 
a  given  article  is  favorable  or  antagonis¬ 
tic,  or  state  the  reliability  of  the  author 
concerned. 

The  material  itself  falls  into  three  dis¬ 
tinct  classes  which  influence  the  catalog¬ 
ing  treatment;  books,  pamphlets,  and 
clippings.  The  books  and  pamphlets 
show  comparatively  little  variation  from 
regular  cataloging  methods.  Clippings 
in  the  Wisconsin  legislative  reference 
department  are  mounted  upon  manila 
sheets,  eight  by  ten,  arranged  chronolog¬ 
ically  under  classification  number,  marked 
with  a  book  number  Z  and  treated  as  a 
single  pamphlet.  They  have  no  author 
card,  being  entered  merely  under  the 
subject-heading  necessary,  with  the  au¬ 
thor  line  left  blank.  This  procedure  is 
convenient  in  some  other  cases,  such  as 


I 

i 

y 


2 


3  Z  %.  3  % 
_Ttv?  3  c. 

<L/yb.  I 


certain  extracts  from  the  Congressional 
record,  containing  discussions  in  which 
various  members  take  part  and  where  it 
is  difficult  to  enter  under  any  individual 
or  even  joint  authors. 

Since  the  author  phase  of  the  catalog 
is  of  less  interest  than  the  subject  phase 
which  acquires  unusual  importance,  sec¬ 
ondary  cards  may  be  very  largely  omit¬ 
ted.  Joint  author  cards  are  really  of  very 
little  service.  Series  and  title  cards  are 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule. 
Whenever  possible  it  is  advisable  to  make 
continuation  cards  instead  of  entering 
new  compilations  or  new  editions  on  sep¬ 
arate  cards.  In  the  case  of  continuation 
cards,  it  is  advisable  to  choose  a  brief 
title  and  pay  no  attention  to  such  varia¬ 
tions  as  may  be  given  in  different  edi¬ 
tions.  For  instance,  a  1907  compilation 
of  state  tax  laws  might  be  entitled, 
“Laws  relating  to  assessment  and  taxa¬ 
tion,”  and  the  1909  one  simply  “Taxation 
laws,”  and  the  1911  one  “Revenue  and 
taxation  laws.”  These  may  all  be  entered 
upon  one  card  under  the  simple  title, 
“Tax  laws,”  and  the  three  volumes  added 
as  continuations.  In  short,  do  not  at¬ 
tempt  to  show  the  exact  detail  by  means 
of  cataloging,  such  as  is  advisable  in  pub¬ 
lic  libraries.  What  your  patron  wishes 
to  know  is  whether  you  have  the  tax 
laws  of  that  state  and  what  is  the  date 
of  their  compilation.  These  are  the  facts 
which  interest  him  and  the  number  of 
pages  or  the  particular  form  of  the  title, 
is  of  absolutely  no  value  to  him.  This  is 
a  good  example  of  that  freedom  in  con¬ 
densation  and  changing  of  titles  which  is 
somewhat  heretical  in  its  ^nature,  but 
which  after  all  leads  to  that  saving  of 
time  and  patience  which  is  so  necessary. 
Use  only  such  imprint  as  is  absolutely 
essential;  omitting  on  the  whole,  illustra¬ 
tions,  maps,  portraits,  and  plates.  In 
cases  of  excerpts  from  periodicals  the 
name  of  the  magazine  with  the  date  of 
that  particular  issue  is  usually  deemed 
sufficient. 

Because  the  ordinary  patron  of  the  leg¬ 
islative  reference  library  is  unfamiliar 
with  library  methods,  it  has  been  found 
convenient  to  file  “see  also”  cards  at  the 


beginning  of  the  subjects  rather  than  at 
the  end.  For  this  same  reason,  the  guide 
cards  should  be  much  more  numerous  than 
in  other  libraries,  and  it  is  of  &reat  ad¬ 
vantage  to  have  the  main  headings 
brought  out  upon  thirds  with  the  sub¬ 
divisions  of  these  main  headings  on  fifths 
of  a  different  color.  Blue  and  manila 
form  a  good  color  contrast  for  such  a 
scheme. 

As  has  been  said  before,  the  compara¬ 
tive  feature  of  this  work  is  one  which  is 
worthy  of  special  consideration.  Its  value 
can  scarcely  be  over-estimated.  The  effi¬ 
ciency  of  the  library  can  be  greatly  in¬ 
creased  by  a  constant  lookout  for  such 
material.  Every  book,  pamphlet  or  clip¬ 
ping,  passing  through  the  hands  of  the 
cataloger  must  be  most  carefully  re¬ 
viewed,  not  only  for  its  general  material, 
but  for  any  comparative  statement  which 
shows  either  conditions,  laws,  or  tenden¬ 
cies  in  two  or  more  communities,  states, 
or  countries.  It  may  take  form  as  a  tab¬ 
ulated  statement,  a  chapter,  a  paragraph, 
or  even  a  mere  foot-note,  but  at  some 
future  time  it  may  serve  as  a  starting 
point  for  an  investigation,  or  give  instan¬ 
taneous  help  in  the  question  as  to  “what 
states  or  countries  have  laws  similar  to 
this.”  The  advisability  of  listing  such 
comparative  material  in  a  separate  cat¬ 
alog  must  be  determined  by  each  library. 
When  it  is  buried  in  the  regular  catalog 
it  requires  much  longer  to  answer  such 
questions  than  when  kept  in  a  separate 
file.  If  made  into  a  catalog  by  itself, 
there  should  always  be  a  note  showing 
exactly  what  states  or  countries  are  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  comparison  and  the  dates 
covered  by  such  material.  In  other  words 
the  comparative  entry  must  be  justified 
either  by  the  title  or  a  note  showing  that 
it  really  is  a  comparison.  Probably  two- 
thirds  of  such  material  is  analytical  in 
character. 

The  question  of  analyticals  will  be 
greatly  influenced  by  the  subject  matter 
under  consideration.  Upon  certain  sub¬ 
jects  there  are  practically  no  book  treat¬ 
ises,  and  most  of  the  material  will  be 
found  in  the  form  of  analyticals.  The 
amount  to  be  analyzed,  the  choice  of  form 


3 


and  the  relative  value  of  the  material 
concerned  must  be  determined  by  shrewd 
judgment  on  the  part  of  the  cataloger. 
The  entire  library  will  be  greatly  en¬ 
hanced  by  a  careful  selection  of  analyti¬ 
cal,  but  the  bulk  of  the  catalog  must  not 
be  increased  unless  with  good  reason. 

The  percentage  of  analyticals  will  be  in 
most  cases  much  higher  than  in  the  or¬ 
dinary  library,  because  so  often  a  few 
pages  are  worthy  of  special  notice  on  ac¬ 
count  of  their  comparative  nature,  the 
particular  view  point  of  the  author,  or 
sometimes  merely  because  of  the  scarcity 
of  material  on  that  subject.  As  to  the 
cataloging  form  for  analyticals,  there  is 
no  reason  why  it  should  not  follow  the 
general  rules  of  the  library  as  a  whole. 
My  own  preference  is  for  the  long  form, 
because  oftentimes  the  short  form  is  not 
perfectly  clear  to  the  legislator.  Al¬ 
though  advocating  simplicity,  as  a  gen¬ 
eral  thing,  it  should  not  require  clearness 
to  be  sacrificed  at  any  time.  There  is 
room  for  discussion  on  this  point  and 
there  is  difference  of  opinion,  but  my 
conclusion  in  the  matter  has  been  reached 
after  some  experimentation.  A  little  more 
work  on  the  part  of  the  librarian  is  pref¬ 
erable  to  the  slightest  bit  of  doubt  on  the 
part  of  the  legislator. 

Since  legislators  are  investigating  spe¬ 
cific  problems,  looking  at  them  from  a 
single  point  of  view,  and  not  always  con¬ 
sidering  a  subject  in  its  broadest  sense 
or  in  its  relationship  to  knowledge  in 
general,  the  question  of  subject  headings, 
outside  of  classification,  becomes  prac¬ 
tically  the  most  important  single  proposi¬ 
tion  the  cataloger  has  to  consider.  In 
practically  every  case  the  popular  rather 
than  the  technical  form  of  heading  is  de¬ 
sirable.  The  simple  ordinary  term  should 
be  chosen,  for  it  is  under  this  type  of 
heading  that  your  reader  will  be  most 
certain  to  look.  In  his  haste  and  absorp¬ 
tion  he  fails  to  realize  that  there  is  any 
possible  viewpoint,  other  than  his  own. 
Having  but  one  thought  in  his  mind,  he 
naturally  expects  to  find  his  material  un¬ 
der  this  subject.  Most  certainly  he  should 
find  at  least  a  cross  reference.  There¬ 
fore,  one  recommendation  is  to  be  exceed¬ 


ingly  generous  in  the  matter  of  cross 
references.  Under  such  conditions  it  is 
always  wiser  not  to  trust  one’s  own  judg¬ 
ment,  but  to  call  upon  various  people 
asking  under  what  heading  they  would 
look  for  material  of  a  certain  type.  In 
this  way  the  cataloger  may  secure  sug¬ 
gestions  which  are  unusually  helpful  and 
which  put  into  the  catalog  the  ideas  of 
many  persons  rather  than  of  one. 

For  instance,  a  book  or  pamphlet  relat¬ 
ing  to  the  extortion  practiced  by  usurers 
would  be  found  under  a  heading  such  as 
“Interest”  or  “Usury.”  However,  there 
are  various  other  headings  under  which 
individuals  might  expect  to  find  material 
of  this  kind,  depending  upon  the  particu¬ 
lar  phase  of  the  question  which  he  had 
in  mind  at  the  time.  A  busy  man,  wish¬ 
ing  to  draft  a  bill  putting  the  loan  shark 
under  control,  would  be  thinking  of  a  loan 
shark  and  not  of  the  underlying  principle 
of  interest.  Another  man  approaching 
the  question  through  interest  in  the  in¬ 
stallment  plan  would  expect  to  find  mate¬ 
rial  of  use  to  him  under  that  subject. 
Another  man  taking  a  broader  view  of  the 
subject  might  look  under  “Interest.”  Each 
of  these  men  would  be  justified  in  look¬ 
ing  under  the  particular  subject  he  had 
in  mind,  expecting  to  find  either  the  ma¬ 
terial  or  a  reference  sending  him  to  the 
chosen  heading.  Every  possible  heading 
which  suggests  itself  is  worthy  of  con¬ 
sideration,  for  such  an  investment  of  time 
will  more  than  pay  for  itself  in  the  satis¬ 
faction  it  brings  to  those  who  use  the 
catalog.  The  necessity  for  painstaking 
effort  and  careful  thought  in  this  connec¬ 
tion  is  verified  by  experience. 

Special  and  local  names  may  well  be 
noted  on  all  main  cards  and  cross  refer¬ 
ences  made  in  every  case  from  such 
forms.  For  instance,  the  law  governing 
the  sale  of  stocks  recently  passed  in 
Kansas,  which  is  popularly  known  as  the 
“Blue  sky  law”  should  be  noted  as  such 
in  the  catalog.  The  “Mary  Ann”  bill  may 
be  called  for  by  that  name  and  if  there 
is  no  cross  reference  in  the  catalog  the 
untrained  assistant  in  the  library,  or  the 
stenographer,  will  never  find  it.  The  me¬ 
chanical  part  of  the  catalog  should  be  so 


4 


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I 

i 


* 


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complete  that  it  does  not  require  ac¬ 
quaintance  with  all  phases  of  the  subject 
in  order  that  a  person  may  use  it  intelli¬ 
gently.  Therefore,  special  and  local 
names  inevitably  need  attention. 

The  contents  of  a  legislative  reference 
library  are  largely  of  either  an  economic 
or  a  legal  nature,  and  its  patrons  some¬ 
times  approach  the  material  from  the 
legal  side  and  sometimes  from  the  eco¬ 
nomic  side.  In  assigning  subject  headings 
this  fact  must  never  be  forgotten.  Con¬ 
sequently,  the  headings  will  sometimes 
take  a  legal  turn  and  sometimes  an 
economic  turn.  At  times  it  is  necessary 
to  compromise  and  choose  one  halfway 
between  the  two. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  rela¬ 
tionship  of  the  economic  and  the  legal 
material.  Justice  Holmes,  in  his  book  on 
the  “Common  law,”  expresses  this  rela¬ 
tionship  unusually  well.  He  says  in  sub¬ 
stance  that  the  growth  of  the  law  is 
legislative;  it  is  legislative  in  its  grounds; 
that  the  secret  root  from  which  law  draws 
all  the  juices  of  life  is  consideration  of 
what  is  expedient  for  the  community. 

The  economic  necessity  for  law  pre¬ 
cedes  the  legal  expression.  The  need  for 
a  statute  is  felt  long  before  it  is  formu¬ 
lated.  This  is  readily  recognized  by  polit¬ 
ical  economists  and  lawyers.  Judge 
Dicey,  in  his  book  entitled,  “Law  and 
opinion  in  England,”  (Lond.  1905,  p.  367) 
says:  “A  statute  *  *  *  is  apt  to  re¬ 

produce  the  public  opinion,  not  so  much 
of  to-day  as  of  yesterday.”  Since  a  legis¬ 
lative  reference  library  is  busied  with  the 
process  of  law-making,  rather  than  with 
the  administration  or  interpretation  of 
law,  the  trend  will  be  toward  the  eco¬ 
nomic  headings  rather  than  the  legal. 
The  tendency  of  law  is  to  crystallize,  and 
subjects  legal  in  aspect  are  likely  to  be 
complete  in  themselves,  and  therefore  less 
amenable  to  library  purposes.  As  an  ex¬ 
ample,  a  subject  heading  such  as  “Emi¬ 
nent  domain”  is  legal  in  its  nature.  This 
will  be  used  in  the  main  body  of  the  cat¬ 
alog  without  a  doubt.  It  may  have  cross 
references  of  both  a  legal  and  an  eco¬ 
nomic  nature.  At  the  same  time  “Emi¬ 
nent  domain”  may  be  used  as  a  sub¬ 


division  of  economic  headings,  such  as 
“Railroads,”  “Street  railways,”  “Tele¬ 
graphs,”  and  “Telephones.”  This  shows 
how  the  legal  aspect  of  an  economic 
question  may  be  brought  directly  in  touch 
with  the  economic  phase  of  the  question. 
Another  example  is  “Liquor  problem;”  as 
it  is  used  in  the  subject  headings,  it  is 
an  economic  question,  yet  we  use  the 
subdivision  “Illegal  traffic”  which  in¬ 
cludes  purely  a  legal  phase.  “Discrim¬ 
ination,”  a  legal  term,  will  cross  refer  to 
some  specific  form  under  an  economic 
heading  such  as  “Railroads — Rebates.” 
It  is  often  necessary  to  refer  from  some 
rather  popular  headings  to  legal  forms, 
such  as  “Funeral  expenses,  see  Estates 
of  deceased  persons.”  Again  it  may  be 
necessary  to  mix  the  two  with  a  heading 
such  as  “Ethics — Business  and  profes¬ 
sional,”  with  cross  references  from  legal 
headings,  such  as  “Professional  ethics,” 
“Legal  ethics,”  “Medical  ethics,”  etc. 
The  general  conclusion  reached  is  that 
there  is  likely  to  be  either  subdivisions 
or  cross  references  back  and  forth  from 
any  type  of  heading  to  any  other  type, 
with  one  exception,  namely,  an  economic 
subdivision  of  a  legal  heading.  In  our 
experience  in  Wisconsin,  we  have  not 
found  this  combination  of  headings 
either  necessary  or  advantageous.  This 
fact  but  emphasizes  what  has  already 
been  said,  that  law  once  established,  be¬ 
comes  permanent  and  fixed  in  character. 

Geographical  divisions  as  main  head¬ 
ings  should  be  used  sparingly,  but  geo¬ 
graphical  subdivisions  of  subjects  are 
very  helpful.  Primary  election  laws,  road 
laws,  tax  laws,  will  all  be  more  available 
if  divided  by  states,  not  only  in  the  classi¬ 
fication,  but  in  the  subject  heading.  If 
clearness  or  rapidity  of  service  demand 
subdivisions,  they  should  be  made,  even 
though  there  be  few  cards  under  each 
subdivision. 

Many  helpful  suggestions  for  subject 
headings  and  cross  references  may  be  ob¬ 
tained  from  law  indexes,  law  encyclope¬ 
dias,  and  the  New  York  index  of  legisla¬ 
tion. 

Not  only  is  it  necessary  for  the  cata- 
loger  to  know  the  material  which  is  in 


5 


the  library  itself,  but  if  efficient  work  is 
to  be  accomplished  it  is  decidedly  neces¬ 
sary  that  material  not  within  the  four 
walls  should  be  made  available.  Let  all 
kinds  of  knowledge  be  at  the  cataloger’s 
command,  and  make  the  mechanical  de¬ 
vices  carry  as  much  of  this  burden  as 
possible.  First  of  all,  material  which  is 
in  town  but  which  is  not  contained  within 
your  own  library,  should  be  noted.  Stat¬ 
utes  and  session  laws  of  all  the  states 
should  be  obtainable  though  not  necessar¬ 
ily  a  part  of  the  library  itself.  If  a  state 
or  law  library  is  near  at  hand,  it  is  far 
better  to  rely  upon  them  as  a  source  of 
reference  than  to  duplicate  such  a  collec¬ 
tion  on  your  own  shelves.  Articles  in 
law  magazines,  reports  large  in  bulk,  but 
issued  only  occasionally,  may  be  noted, 
when  not  placed  upon  the  shelves.  In 
Wisconsin  we  make  a  distinction  between 
material  in  existence  within  the  city  and 
that  which  is  in  existence  elsewhere,  such 
as  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  the  John 
Crerar  library,  or  near-by  institutions.  A 
manila  catalog  card  tells  us  that  the  ma¬ 
terial  may  be  found  outside  of  the  city, 
whereas  by  stamping  the  name  of  the  li¬ 
brary  in  the  place  of  the  call  number  on 
a  white  card,  we  indicate  that  the  mate¬ 
rial  is  in  town.  Subject  entries  only  are 
made  for  material  of  this  sort. 

There  are  many  indexes  already  in  ex¬ 
istence  which  will  supplement  the  catalog 
and  call  to  the  attention  of  the  worker 
available  material.  One  of  the  most  val¬ 
uable  sources  of  all  is  found  in  the  ex¬ 
perts  of  the  neighborhood.  The  librarian 
is  too  prone  to  think  that  all  the  most 
useful  knowledge  is  in  books  or  printed 
form.  Some  of  the  best  help  imaginable 
can  be  obtained  from  men.  Every  com¬ 
munity  has  within  its  borders  specialists 
of  various  types;  men  who  have  given 
their  lifetime  to  the  study  of  some  par¬ 
ticular  question.  Make  such  individuals 
a  portion  of  the  catalog;  use  them  as 
sources.  The  telephone  is  at  your  com¬ 
mand  and  oftentimes  more  valuable  in¬ 
formation  can  be  obtained  from  some  per¬ 
son  within  telephone  call  than  can  be 
gotten  from  hours  of  work  with  shelf 
material. 


Furthermore,  do  not  limit  yourself  to 
the  talented  man  within  the  community, 
but  use  the  expert  wherever  he  may  be 
found.  Correspondence  will  often  bring 
information  to  your  door;  mount  the  let¬ 
ters;  put  them  with  the  clippings  or  cat¬ 
alog  them  separately;  in  case  of  urgency, 
telegraph.  In  fact,  have  some  of  the 
appropriation  deliberately  set  aside 
for  supplementing  the  catalog  by  tele¬ 
grams. 

A  record  of  sources,  arranged  both  by 
places  and  subjects  is  of  service.  Under 
your  subject  list  enter  the  names  and  ad¬ 
dresses  of  those  who  are  specialists. 
Experts  throughout  the  country  will  thus 
be  at  your  command.  In  the  geographi¬ 
cal  list,  put  the  names  of  parties  to  whom 
you  may  apply  for  material  relating  to  a 
given  community.  Suppose  for  instance, 
that  your  state  is  contemplating  a  Work¬ 
men’s  compensation  law  and  some  state 
where  there  is  no  legislative  reference 
department  is  also  considering  the  mat¬ 
ter.  This  state  passes  a  law  on  Tuesday, 
and  on  Saturday  the  bill  of  your  own 
state  is  coming  up  for  consideration.  You 
need  exact  information  as  to  which  bill  is 
passed,  whether  it  passed  with  or  without 
amendments;  in  fact,  you  must  have  im¬ 
mediate  and  full  knowledge  concerning 
that  law.  You  may  have  within  your 
mind  some  possible  source,  but  during  the 
stress  and  pressure  of  the  legislative  ses¬ 
sion  such  a  list  relieves  one  of  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  remembrance. 

The  catalog,  through  its  mechanical 
devices,  can  carry  this  burden.  The  cat¬ 
alog  is  not  merely  a  record  of  sources 
within  the  four  walls,  but  must  endure  as 
a  record  of  all  possible  available  sources, 
so  that  time  and  energy  given  to  “the 
living  part”  of  the  catalog,  is  well 
expended. 

In  addition  to  the  sources  already  men¬ 
tioned,  there  are  numerous  other  possible 
indexes  of  value.  When  the  bills  are 
available  in  printed  form,  a  subject  index 
indicating  the  final  disposition  of  a  bill — 
whether  killed,  passed  or  vetoed — is  of 
inestimable  use.  Such  indexes  for  the 
general  laws  and  the  local  and  temporary 
laws  are  advantageous.  A  comparative 


6 


index,  apart  from  the  regular  catalog,  al¬ 
ready  noticed,  may  be  mentioned  again  in 
this  connection.  An  index  of  the  docu¬ 
ments  of  the  state  is  also  a  valuable  asset, 
since  the  publications  of  most  states  are 
rather  poorly  indexed  and  have  practi¬ 
cally  no  centralized  list  of  subjects.  The 
decisions  of  the  attorney-generals  quite 
often  are  of  as  much  importance  in  law 
conclusions  as  are  the  decisions  of  the 
courts.  They  have  virtually  either  vital¬ 
ized  or  invalidated  laws  upon  the  statute 
books.  In  states  where  statute  revisions 
are  rather  infrequent,  statute  indexes  may 
be  necessary.  These  indexes  should  be 
made  supplementary  to  the  regular  cata¬ 
log.  Some  of  them  may  be  carried  along 
as  side  issues  at  the  same  time  as  the 
regular  work,  and  others  may  be  taken 
up  in  their  entirety  to  be  accomplished 
as  time  permits. 

Since  the  importance  and  value  of  such 
a  library  depends,  not  upon  the  quantity, 
but  upon  the  quality  and  efficiency  of  the 
collection,  the  disposition  of  material 
which  has  become  historical  in  its  nature 
comes  prominently  into  the  foreground. 
Unless  there  is  constant  supervision  and 
reduction,  there  is  an  unnecessary  and 
useless  accumulation.  The  working  li¬ 
brary  will  never  be  a  large  one.  After  a 
state  policy  relating  to  a  given  question 
is  established,  the  library  should,  within 
a  reasonable  time,  dispose  of  the  larger 
portion  of  the  collection  on  that  subject. 
Its  present  usefulness  from  the  legislat¬ 
or’s  standpoint  is  over.  Its  future  value 
is  as  a  historical  contribution.  As  a  re¬ 
sult,  there  will  be  continual  withdrawals 
as  well  as  continual  acquisitions. 

After  all,  that  which  makes  library 


work  so  stimulating  and  so  interesting  is 
the  human  element.  The  progress  which 
one  may  make  in  its  mechanical  side,  the 
service  of  all  its  books  and  pamphlets, 
the  importance  and  the  value  of  the  ma¬ 
terial,  depend  primarily  upon  the  human 
side  of  it.  The  mere  fact  that  the  scholar, 
as  well  as  the  man  with  a  hobby,  the 
student  along  with  the  crank,  the  conser¬ 
vative  together  with  the  radical,  the  theo¬ 
retical  and  the  practical  man,  are  all 
brought  together  in  a  common  place, 
shows  that  the  mechanical  is  truly  the 
lesser  value  in  this  field  of  work.  How- 

I 

ever,  it  is  in  the  making  of  a  more  per¬ 
fect  apparatus,  in  the  saving  of  time  and 
energy,  in  the  additions  to  its  efficiency, 
that  the  cataloger  receives  his  reward. 
The  possibilities  of  this  work  are  so  far 
reaching,  that  every  reasonable  device  or 
idea  is  at  least  worthy  of  trial  so  that 
there  may  be  every  possible  advancement 
in  every  practical  direction.  It  is  a  new 
work  and  there  are  few  guide  posts.  We 
cannot  accept  other  experiences  unques¬ 
tionably.  What  are  virtues  in  another 
library  may  be  vices  in  the  legislative 
reference  work.  What  we  most  need  is  a 
safe  and  sane  balance  of  judgment,  quick¬ 
ness  of  perception,  a  sense  of  foresight, 
combined  with  all  the  special  knowledge 
possible,  great  discrimination,  initiative 
and  the  ability  to  meet  any  situation,  and 
above  all,  the  disposition  to  test  every 
new  conception  or  suggestion  which  may 
lead  to  development;  in  fact,  the  more  of 
these  virtues  which  the  cataloger  may 
possess,  the  more  efficient  will  be  the  re¬ 
sult,  not  only  in  the  catalog  itself,  but  in 
the  net  results  shown  by  the  work  in  its 
entirety. 


